Find out about our new opportunity to paint a mural about our great state and our call for artists and our community meetings and paint days HERE!

This week we are visiting towns across Nebraska to collect stories and memories about what makes the state special in general and especially about the way people in the small towns visited South Omaha for trading livestock and all the novelties of visiting a larger city. In this photo we set up a tent by the mural Rebecca painted in Murdock on their museum. You can learn more about that here. At this event we learned that ranchers often loaded their cattle on the train and then rode in the caboose with other ranchers to South O. We also learned recently when truckers delivered cattle to the South Omaha livestock exchange they were often stopped up back to 84th street (that’s 50 blocks!) The time in Murdock and the parade really reminded us how special the folks in Nebraska are. We painted some of the kids faces and talked to a lot of friends from the time we spent there to design and paint their mural. Great folks. And we talked about the changes in the scale of farming and the impact that is having on folks. Lots of things to think about as we get ready to design a public art piece that tells our state’s story. Please join us in discussing these and many more ideas and how to compose them into an interesting image!

The South Omaha Mural Project

is a series of ten community-based murals depicting the culture, history, and ethnic heritage of groups that settled in South Omaha neighborhoods. Already completed murals include the South Omaha themed “Magic City” at 24th & N streets and the Lithuanian-themed,“Sieninis Paveikslas,“ on the Lithuanain Bakery at 5217 S 33rd Ave., the Mexican themed “Del Futuro Al Pasado” on the El Mercado Buildingat 4907 s. 25th st. and the Polish Themed “Nostrovia”on Dinker’s bar at2368 S. 29th St.

The Irish and Croatian murals are the next parts of the the vision as well as another three murals to complete the Plaza De La Raza series that will share the stories of people of Salvadoran, Guatemalan, and Honduran heritage living in South Omaha. Each would be located on the other 3 walls that border the Plaza de la Raza where the Mexican mural was painted. Each mural we do is designed through a process of four community meetings and four design work meetings, that include discussion and artistic exercises concerning the identity, culture, and heritage of the particular community we are working with for that neighborhood of South Omaha. Once the designs are completed, the the artists will prepare the walls for community paint days. When the murals are completed live music and food commemorate the work of the artists and community members. In the years to come the murals will enhance the neighborhoods and create an overall appreciation for the unique history of South Omaha. The murals are and will be a highlight on regular bus tours of the area that include commentary by the historian Gary Kastrick.